The invention is broadly concerned with the provision of a mount for the support and positioning of a magnifying lens adjacent a source of artificial light.
The advantages of such a combination are many, including a convenient illumination and enlargement of reading material, and an enhanced visibility of the viewing or work area for any number of purposes including medical examination, handicrafts, and the like.
Examples of known mounts for positioning magnifying lenses relative to a light source will be seen in the following patents:
______________________________________ 1,556,510 King 1,884,968 Bloch 2,641,965 Valenza 4,540,239 Frankel ______________________________________
The known mounts are each of limited utility, generally being adapted for use with and able to accommodate only the single light fixture with which it is associated, and containing in effect a permanently mounted lens. The known mounts are not, as a practical matter, capable of providing for use of the lens as a self supported device independent of the light fixture.
The inventor's own prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,221, Friedman, issued Jan. 9, 1990, discloses a unique portable light utilizing a flat battery case with a pivotally mounted lamp housing thereon. This light, adapted to be suspended about the neck of a user, has been found to be a particularly useful portable light source. It has also become apparent that it would be highly desirable to provide for use of a magnifying lens in association therewith. The known devices, while acceptable for their intended purposes, cannot in any obvious manner associate with the type of portable light shown in the prior Friedman patent, do not provide the desired versatility of accommodating interchangeable lens, and do not allow for the actual mounting and positioning of the lens for use independently of the portable light.